New 3D Table Top Online project

[st4lk3r87]

Hello! Yesterday I've seen a new kickstarter project called "Aegis Online". It's a 3D TableTop. It's also developed in Unity ( as far as I know, the UI in the video is the default Unity style ).
Here's the link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...op/description

I'd like to know what you think about it. It looks at a very early stage but imo TableTop Connect looked the same 2 years ago.

[celestian]

Interesting. I've actually been playing with Unity myself towards the same idea tho only as mess around project and nothing serious. Mostly I just like learning how to use things like Unity and I've always wanted to get better at c#.

I can certainly see FGU doing this at some point but long after it's been out for a while. I think their biggest blockers right now is trying to keep support for all their older content and community mods. Once they get past that and have a release they'll be able to start working on things like these.

I'm looking forward to this 3d style of mapping as well as lighting and sound layout. If you've ever played with the Neverwinter Nights toolset you know exactly what I mean.

Maybe Doug will poach this guy as well

[Valarian]

Personally, for me, the biggest draw of Fantasy Grounds has always been its support for Character and Story over the map. The vast majority of VTT tools seem to concentrate on the map, but I see that as the smallest part of any roleplaying game. It's why I've stayed with Fantasy Grounds, despite backing a number of other projects. If there's limited support for the story, campaign management, and characters, then it's a non-starter for me. I'm not interested in playing a miniature game or pseudo-video game.

[st4lk3r87]

Personally, for me, the biggest draw of Fantasy Grounds has always been its support for Character and Story over the map. The vast majority of VTT tools seem to concentrate on the map, but I see that as the smallest part of any roleplaying game. It's why I've stayed with Fantasy Grounds, despite backing a number of other projects. If there's limited support for the story, campaign management, and characters, then it's a non-starter for me. I'm not interested in playing a miniature game or pseudo-video game.

I agree with you 100% Fantasy Grounds is wonderful for managing your campaign.

[shadzar]

this is out of order for various reasons...

but I see that as the smallest part of any roleplaying game

there is so many things i could say about this, but people never listen anyway.

The vast majority of VTT tools seem to concentrate on the map

there is a very good reason for this.. everything happens based on what is on the map.. from the moment you leave Townsville to go to the caves of death, a map exists. it doesn't matter if you do theater of the mind, there is still a map that allows you to get from Location A to Location B, and you have to go through the Forest of Wood to get there. Congrats, THAT IS A MAP!.

support for Character and Story over the map.

What does this even mean?

are you saying FG has a text editor that lets you type in? all VTTs have had that, and that is all "story" is. open up notepad, write something email it to a friend... IM someone a file with a bunch of test. post your text into the forums here.

what i think you are trying to say is you dont like tactical combat focused games that use battlegrids? what has stopped you with other VTTs?
does FG magically inspire you to type a bunch of text with its off-brown default theme?

i literally cannot figure out what you mean b this. the only "support" for "story" in any game, is that given by the players, unless there is some piece of software actually helping you write a story with some built in MLA guide or something....

any VTT will have as much or as little of any part of a game as the players choose to put effort into. FG offers nothing more than roll20, MapTool, OpenRPG etc.. a simple place to type text. (well roll20 offers more if you want to use it since it has built-in VOIP).

For that mater for non-tactical combat play, Discord is a VTT. The whole thing that makes a virtual TABLETOP is that you need the playing field, game board, MAP on the table; otherwise any chat service, SMS, etc allow playing games.

seriously confused here.

_______________________________________________

I think the KS looks cute. Python as the only coding option is as bad a decision as FGU only allowing LUA, since Unity has MANY more options available. the map drawing is far more advanced than what FGU recently presented, but i see no mention of "dynamic lighting"

Why are the frelling minis animated with punches? yes, Unity makes 3d video games, and maybe Aegis will be able to have some with its "minis", but for a VTT that junk isnt needed. 2d top down, thats all the map you need to see since most games looking under something requires asking the game master what is there. its a VTT, NOT an MMO!

Guy is Seattle based.. right next to WotC... could be a push for licensing or to sell his product to replace the defunct DDi gaming table that became vaporware. that was about 10 years ago when the guy said he wanted to start making one. doubtful that time frame is coincidence. he as many others were disappointed by DDi failures and Randy Beuhler and Trevor Kidd's ineptitude to make any of that work.

Board Games? maybe this thing will be able to manage something simple and RPG-like like HeroQuest/ Descent II/ etc, or even tabletop Rogue-likes.

Aegis is going to be interesting to watch over the next month.

[Callum]

Yes, I agree with Valarian, too. Everything he says makes sense and matches with my own views. I see a roleplaying game as primarily about the characters, and their interactions with each other and the people and events in the world around them. A map can be a helpful tool for part of this, but it's not the main tool. A virtual table top needs to offer ways to simulate the real table top environment for RPGs, and Fantasy Grounds had got the core approach to this right, for me.

[Bidmaron]

It is interesting for a guy like shadzar, who claims to have no use for Fantasy Grounds spends so much time here bitching about it. I am all for free speech but I am really getting tired of his griping almost reaching the level where he is pissed because Fantasy Grounds cannot butter his morning toast or run his game of lawn darts.

[celestian]

I watched the guy's stream last night where he demo'd several things. It had some really nice features but the fella is going a direction I personally wouldn't be interested in. Specifically he was having the "tokens" fight it out with damage splash text popping up/etc. Personally I'd go for more a tabletop experience with static tokens like chess pieces.

The part I do hope we get at some point for FGU is the 3D maps. Even if they are simple maps. I'd love my players to be able to go into first person or "over the shoulder" camera view and walk through the dungeon. With the view, positional sound and lighting that would be very immersive... at least for me. Turning the corner to see a impressive looking 3D dragon token or beholder? That would be pretty darn cool.

[Stuart]

It is interesting for a guy like shadzar, who claims to have no use for Fantasy Grounds spends so much time here bitching about it. I am all for free speech but I am really getting tired of his griping almost reaching the level where he is pissed because Fantasy Grounds cannot butter his morning toast or run his game of lawn darts.

Absolutely agree young man.

I've just run a character creation for people new to FG and they loved it (I think the majority are Rolld20). I have run 3 sessions of a Rolemaster game now and for the first two there was no map work at all - just solid roleplaying and a series of terrible accents by yours truly. I've been with FG since its early years and I think Valarian nails it totally. FG scores so well with me personally because of how it supports running a game re story and dialogue. The new (relatively) look Combat Tracker and automation re Effects and so on is just gravy.

[Ken L]

It's not on the same level as TTC, and Talespire has a much more interesting 3d interface that's on my radar. Talespire however is a long-ways-away. There's also mage-hand, d20pro's super-secret next-gen table which looks great.. but they've failed their kick starter targets for d20pro unlimited shattering a bunch of trust hence the mass exodus of users.

Shaz has legitimate gripes, there's a line between 'bashing' and airing grievances. It's getting harder in the current software climate to justify a refurnished 2003 Toyota Camry as competing on the same level as the emerging Chevy Volts or Teslas. FG's main advantages are the licenses, and current 'community support' as people like to say. That crown comes from being among the first, but that can quickly slip away. I talk with kids going to college every week in my FLGS and they've heard about FG but air the same gripes compared to the often referenced roll20 in the area of ease-of-use. Those are the future of VTT users; like I keep telling my co-workers about movements in college age preferences, "ignore them at your peril".

We had a large group of windows CE developers that said "what's wrong with what we're currently doing" when android started entering the embedded software space. That was 4 years ago, they're all retired or gone..